Flowgen Group wizards: List-backed dropdowns with labels and thumbnails

A Flowgen wizard is a normal Group whose exposed inputs are presented as guided questions. When a question should offer a maintained set of choices—with a label, thumbnail, prompt/value, and other fields—use an Items List connected to a manual Route. The List stays editable and drives the dropdown; you do not have to recreate the choices as static options.

How the pieces fit together

• Items List: one row per choice, with typed columns such as Label, Prompt/Value, Thumbnail, and any extra data needed by the workflow.
• Route: turns those rows into choices, stores the selection, and returns fields from the selected row.
• Group: exposes the Route’s selection as a question and wraps the workflow that uses the answer.
• Wizard surface: presents the Group inputs as a step-by-step guided experience.

1. Create the choice List

Add an Items List and make one row for each choice. A useful schema is:

Column	Type	Purpose
Label	Text	What the person sees in the dropdown.
Prompt or Value	Text	The text the workflow should receive after a choice is made.
Thumbnail	Image	The image shown alongside that choice.
Optional fields	Typed for their use	Other selected-row values, such as a reference image, format, or setting.

Keep each option’s data on its row. You can edit the List’s rows and reorder them later; the dropdown follows the List. The selected option is identified by its stable row ID, not its visible label, so changing a label does not change the identity of the choice.

2. Connect and configure the Route

1. Create a Route and set its mode to manual. A wizard selection is a person’s choice, not a first-match condition.
2. Connect the List’s Whole list output (rows_out) to the Route’s Options list input (options_in). Do not connect each_out; that handle is for List Iterator workflows.
3. Open the Route’s sidebar section for Options and images. Flowgen can detect common names such as Label, Name, or Option; Prompt or Value; and Image, Preview, or Thumbnail. If it picks the wrong column, choose the exact columns in the sidebar. The text columns used for the label and value should be separate when the visible name differs from the prompt the workflow needs.
4. If the selected choice should pass additional typed fields downstream, configure them in the Route’s output mappings. Use the exact column IDs shown by the node/sidebar; do not guess IDs.

Each List row becomes a choice. The dropdown uses the mapped label and thumbnail; the Route returns the selected row’s mapped Prompt/Value on result_out, the selected image on image_out, and configured extra fields on their corresponding field_out_<id> outputs.

3. Turn the workflow into a Group wizard

1. Build the inner workflow nodes that should run from the person’s answers. Include the Route and, when appropriate, its option List in the group. A List can also remain outside the group if you want to maintain the choices separately.
2. Use get_node_sockets to inspect the actual handles before wiring. Expose the Route’s select_in as a Group input with a clear question label, text data type, and shared binding. The exposed input must target the Route node’s select_in.
3. Expose the Route’s selected outputs that the rest of the graph needs: usually result_out for the selected prompt/value, image_out for the selected image, and any configured field_out_<id> values.
4. After creating the Group, enable its wizard surface with set_props on the returned Group ID: {"cardWizard":{"enabled":true,"surface":"wizard"}}. The Group creation call creates the sockets; it does not enable the wizard presentation by itself.

Use the ordinary Group—not a Group Repeater or loop group. Repeated row processing belongs to a List Iterator; a wizard is an interactive choice-and-run experience.

Optional: keep artwork in a separate List

Usually the simplest setup keeps the Thumbnail image column beside each option in the same List. If artwork is maintained separately, connect the artwork List to the Route’s images_in input and map its option-ID and image columns. Matching is by ID, not by row position, so reordering either List will not pair the wrong image with a choice.

Common issues

• The dropdown is empty: confirm the Route is in manual mode, the Items List is connected from rows_out to options_in, and the Group input targets that Route’s select_in.
• The visible choice is wrong: check the Route’s Label mapping. The displayed label is not the stable option ID.
• The workflow receives the label instead of the intended instruction: map the separate Prompt/Value text column and use the Route’s result_out.
• Thumbnails are missing or mismatched: check that the mapped column is an Image column with usable image values. For a separate artwork List, verify the ID and image mappings; never rely on row order.
• A selected value is unavailable downstream: expose the right Route output from the Group. Extra typed fields require a Route output mapping before their field_out_<id> can be exposed.
• Choices stop reflecting edits: keep the Route connected to the live Items List instead of copying its rows into static Group options.

In short: List rows define the choices, the manual Route turns them into a labeled and optionally illustrated dropdown, and a Group exposes that selection as a wizard question.